Assignment: Descriptive essay using a photo, ad, or screencap. We were supposed to describe the photo, and also demonstrate what the photographer MEANT to say, DID NOT mean to say, and how the photo reflects on our society. Blah blah blah.
What I used:
Way More Fun In Neon
It’s a scene you can imagine being played out in millions of American households each day. Framed by colorful finger paintings and Crayola crayons, a mother and her child face one another, spending quality time together. The genuineness of their smiles manages to light up the photo and a viewer can’t help but be struck by the child’s obvious innocence.
The first thing you may notice is the way the light dances off of the little boy’s flaxen curls in a contrast to his mother’s straight, mousey brown hair. They contrast in other ways, as well, with her plain white blouse almost reflecting attention back to the shades of blue her son is wearing. You can sense the obvious difference, the drab professionalism of the mature mother against the bright, almost shining, playful innocence of childhood, but you can also sense their unity. They clearly radiate their affection for each other.
Almost as an afterthought, you may notice that the little boy’s tiny toenails are painted with a vivid, neon pink polish. You may not have even noticed until after reading the caption, written by the mother, Jenna: “Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.” In fact, on the table in front of the pair, almost snuggled in next to the crayons, is the bottle of nail polish. When you notice Jenna’s hands are holding his small feet delicately to allow the sticky polish to dry, you can almost feel the sharp scent of wet nail polish tickle your nose.
This image is part of an advertisement by clothing retailer J. Crew. There are two items on this page that the company is trying to sell the viewer. One is, of course, the bottle of brightly colored pink nail enamel, marked with the brand “essie.” The other item is a gray-and-white striped pullover sweater that, ironically, is not part of the image. It actually feels very out of place in its muted tones, next to so much vibrant color and energy.
What J. Crew really seems to be selling here is the happiness, energy and innocence that this family has. By showing us a snapshot into their lively Saturday afternoon, we want to embrace that innocence and to imitate it. It makes us want that little pink bottle that we barely noticed. After all, it’s way more fun in neon, and why would we not want to capture that for ourselves?
Despite its innocence, the image is not without controversy. To some, putting nail polish on a boy is simply scandalous…let alone pink nail polish! The photographer surely didn’t intend to spark a massive debate on why our society has such a celebrated image of gender roles, and how staying within those clear lines keeps a child from potentially “turning” homosexual or transgendered. Unfortunately, it did.
However, the fact that this photograph made its way into such a widespread publication certainly shows us that we are at a turning point as a society. Our collective ideology is shifting from clear “girl” items (such as pink nail polish and baby dolls) and clear “boy” items (such as blue baseball caps and Tonka trucks) to a more tolerant and accepting approach to both child-rearing and LGBT lifestyles. Perhaps it also shows a change in our attitude of cause-and-effect in terms of sexuality, in that it is becoming more widely accepted that there is no clearly defined “cause,” and a more liberal, well-rounded approach to raising children will produce more well-rounded, accepting adults. Painting a little boy’s tiny toenails pink is no longer as scandalous as it once would have been, partially because of this shift in our society and partially because the image conveys so much positivity.
Yes, this advertisement did receive a lot of press, both celebrating it and opposing it. But in a way that is a very positive thing. This image, in all its joy and picturesque glory, was brought to the forefront of our minds. J. Crew released an ad that rode like a wave, helping along the slow erosion of the banks of narrow-mindedness.
UPDATE: This got a 95%. There were a couple of careless typos and a word that was used incorrectly, but other than that, woot. I corrected this one, so you’re not plagued with my stupidity!
manderkinz 